Young people in the Great South Coast to benefit from $90,500 of funding from the State Trustees Australia Foundation

The State Trustees Australia Foundation has continued its commitment to Beyond the Bell, an ambitious, ground breaking initiative leading a cultural shift in the way communities and service providers work to support our young people.

More than $90,000 has been granted to Beyond the Bell Great South Coast Ltd in one of Victoria’s most disadvantaged regions where only 57% of young people are achieving Year 12 qualifications, against the state average of 74%.

The Great South Coast covers the shires of Colac, Otway, Corangamite, Moyne, Southern Grampians, Glenelg and the City of Warrnambool.

Beyond the Bell is the most concerted community-based collaboration ever made to tackle the Great South Coast’s low Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates and to encourage support for young people from conception to adulthood.

The State Trustees Australia Foundation has funded Beyond the Bell since 2014. The Foundation initially funded a successful pilot of the Stepping Stones to School program to help transition pre-schoolers to school. This new funding will expand the program to Glenelg.

The Foundation funding will also be used for the expansion of the Nurture Nest program in Moyne. Additionally the Foundation grant will help create resources for the Continuum of Need framework in at least six new schools within the Colac, Otway and Corangamite regions.

The investment the Foundation has made into the Beyond the Bell project over the past three years stemmed from a significant bequest received in 2014 for the purposes of assisting children.

State Trustees Executive General Manager, Melanie Lewis states, “we believe the holistic approach of this collective impact initiative will have positive and distinct social returns for the local community and are proud to be extending our support”.